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🇴🇲 Oman /Conflict & Security

US approves potential $5 billion sale of bombs and guidance kits to Saudi Arabia

From Times of Oman · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Approved/passed
  • The US State Department notified Congress of a potential $5 billion sale to Saudi Arabia involving JDAM-ER guidance systems, bombs and support equipment.
  • The package includes 5,004 KMU-572 guidance kits, 5,000 KMU-556 kits, 5,004 500-pound bombs and 5,000 2,000-pound bombs, along with related systems and services.
  • Washington said the sale would strengthen Saudi territorial defense and interoperability with US and Gulf partner forces, without altering the regional military balance.

The United States has approved a possible $5 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, including thousands of precision-guidance kits, general-purpose bombs and related support equipment.

A congressional notification from the State Department said Riyadh requested 5,004 KMU-572 JDAM guidance kits, 5,000 KMU-556 kits, 5,004 BLU-111 500-pound bombs and 5,000 BLU-117 2,000-pound bombs. The proposed package also includes FMU-139 fuze systems, DSU-38 and DSU-40 target detectors, containers, spare parts, consumables and accessories.

US government and contractor personnel would provide engineering, technical and logistical support. Boeing, based in Virginia, would serve as the principal contractor. The notification said no offset agreement was currently known, and implementation would not require additional US government or contractor representatives in Saudi Arabia.

political stability and economic progress

· US State DepartmentThe department’s description of Saudi Arabia’s role in the Gulf.

The State Department said the sale would advance US foreign policy and national security goals by strengthening Saudi Arabia, which Washington described as a force for "political stability and economic progress" in the Gulf. It said the equipment would improve Saudi Arabia’s airborne defense capability against current and future regional threats, strengthen homeland defense and improve interoperability with US forces and other Gulf partners.

The department said Saudi Arabia could incorporate the equipment and services into its armed forces without difficulty, and assessed that the transaction would not change the region’s military balance. The approval comes amid heightened tensions in West Asia, including conflict involving the United States and Iran, attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and renewed activity by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. It follows agreements between Washington and Riyadh establishing a framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation.

The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s airborne defense capability to counter current and future regional threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and improve interoperability with systems operated by U.S. forces and other Gulf Region partners.

· US State DepartmentThe department explained the stated security rationale for the proposed sale.
About this summary

Originally published by Times of Oman in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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